The Modern Victory Garden

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

4 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
3/8 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt

2 cups water
white flour as needed

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt.  Add water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a lid if the bowl has one.  Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat the bottom of a deep mixing bowl with flour; put dough seam side down in the bowl and very lightly dust with more flour. Cover with a cotton towel or a plate/lid and let rise for about 2 hours.   I put it on top of our microwave to rise and then microwave a cup of hot water and leave it in there – makes the top of the microwave warm which helps the rising.   When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. [A Crockpot Ceramic Liner with an OVEN Safe Lid works BEAUTIFULLY!]  When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven.  Carefully and quickly invert the rising bowl with the dough over the hot pot, turning the dough out - seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

WHOLE WHEAT VARIATIONS:

I make a Whole Wheat version of this bread - replacing either 1 cup or 2 cups of the regular unbleached flour with freshly ground whole wheat flour.  The more whole wheat incorporated though - the denser the loaf texture becomes.   I have found that 50% whole wheat is about as much as I can add without the bread becoming too heavy and losing the great qualities of good crumb and crisp crust - that make this recipe so good.  I generally add a just a few more grains of yeast to the whole wheat versions of this recipe - to ensure a good rise with the heavier bread.